1. Saint Louis- They're deep, gritty and really didn't lose to much from a talent persepctive. Add in Majerus and you have what should be a very good/to great team. They should spend a lot of time in the top 25.

2. UMass- CW is a special player and they have Big East athletes. Still don't love Kellogg and I think that style of play is hit or miss but they have too much talent to be out of the top 3.

3- St Joes- Everything is there for them to be a tourney team. They're incredibly talented but they still lack focus at times. Could very easily see them finishing #1 overall or falling apart.

4- VCU- Saw VCU play a fair amount last year, pretty incredible what they were able to pull off with such a young team. Shaka is worth every penny. They will miss Burgess more than people think.

5- Dayton- May be the leagues 5th tourney team for the first time. Dillard is an absolute stud and the Gtown transfer should help make up for Johnson leaving.

6- Temple- Lose a ton but return some great players and Dalton Pepper. Think they will sneak up on a few teams and could be in the top 5 by years end.

7- Xavier- Amazing that they're this low but they lose so much that it's inevitable. I know they're still talented but there's no reason to think that their won't be a large adjustment period for these young guys. Should improve by the end of the year and set up a tourney run again in 2013.

8- LaSalle- Won't sneak up on anybody this year but that backcourt should still be phenomenal. Should still be weak up front and will have difficulty matching up with the league's elite because of it.

9- Richmond- Will definitely improve. Derrick Williams is a beast and those guards have their moments. Mooney is too good a coach to have his team go out as meekly as they did last year.

10- GW- Have a very good freshman class coming in and the kid Armwood from Nova who can play(started for them I think). Not too much depth from the upperclassmen but they should compete this year and maybe could be a CBI team.

11- Bonnies- The natural comedown after a cinderella season. They have some talent left over, Conger especially, but that PG situation is still up in the air and without Nicholson to rely on they will have some major scoring droughts.

12- Fordham- The year they make it to the A10s. Gaston will be a man possessed this year. I don' t think Pecora is a good coach or the answer in the Bronx but he is collecting some talent there under the radar.

13- Charlotte- They might as well leave the conference now. They have some talent but there's something weird about that program and I'm not sure Major is the answer down there.

14- URI- Hurley should be great and they will make a big jump with the transfers next year. This will be another rough one though, especially with no HOlton/Outerbridge.

15- Duquesne- Not sure what needs to be said. They are in for a rough recovery period.

This is really tough for me... I mean can VCU just come in and get a top 4 or will there need to be an adjustment? I guess here is mine but it's tough.

1) Saint Louis- Solid, great coach, great home court advantage they are the safe #1 pick
2) St. Joes- I think they have as much talent as anyone in this league and are going to really come together.
3) UMass- I will put them here because you can't overlook the talent and the major step they took last year but this is a team that is going to exceed expectations or fail horribly. I am going to put them here but I think they could go from 1st to 8th.
4) VCU- Tough to put a new team here but VCU has proven to be solid and I don't think the change of conference will slow them too much.
5) Temple- I put us slightly ahead of Dayton but really they could be flip flopped easily.
6) Dayton- Solid new coach, good amount of returning players.
7) La Salle- Potentially dangerous UMass type team that could shock everyone or fail.
8) Richmond- Tough team to place because they could be a very dangerous, underrated team.
9) Xavier- Lost a lot, they are a machine they will rebuild it but it may take a year of average results.
10) Bonnies- Still bring back a decent amount but losing AN is huge.
11) GW- Nice talent but still a year away I think.
12) Fordham- Building off last year.
13) Charlotte- Not enough pieces.
14) URI- Tough with a new coach to expect much.
15) Duquesne- Just a disaster offseason.

I promise you the Bonnies won't finish that low, but predictions will surely be like this after Nicholson's graduation. Don't be shocked (pun?) if VCU struggles more than many think. They could wind up a middle-of-the-pack squad (which is not a knock at all) in their first season. Also, I'm not as sold on Dayton as many seem to be. Beyond Dillard, who is very good, their depth at guard is very, very shaky and the bigs aren't especially talented.

First of all, it's appalling that you put UMass #2. They are the clear cut #1 in this conference right now. Maybe VCU, but I'd still give the edge to UMass. But St. Louis? C'mon. They're easily top 5, but not top 2.

Owlfan, I can see why maybe you think UMass will do well, and not great, like I'm expecting. But there is NO WAY that UMass fails miserably. Not with Chaz in charge. They won't exceed my expectations either because they can only live up to them, that's how good they are. UMass will finish somewhere between 1-3. There is no possible situation where they finish lower.

I can also promise you that with Charlon Kloof back at the helm, the point guard situation is certainly not up in the air for the Bonnies. After a strong finish to last year, look for him to take a big step in his 2nd season.

I can also promise you that with Charlon Kloof back at the helm, the point guard situation is certainly not up in the air for the Bonnies. Look for him to take a big step in his second season running the show.

Absolutely, mh05. Kloof's emergence, aside from Andrew's obvious murderous rampage, was the key component to Bona's great play down the stretch. He can DEFEND.

Bradford will be a big loss as he was clutch player and terrific team player(The missed FTs in the Indiana at the end don't define him). However, his brother coming in(4 star and top 100 recruit) should help ease the pain. Of course he's still a freshman which means he'll have plenty of learning to do and will make mistakes. Our senior PG Theus(CAA tourney MVP) I believe will have his best season now that he truly has experience being "the guy". Our freshman will of course have a year of experience under their belt. We also have a 3pt sharpshooter of a guard in Troy Daniels(Has one of the purest jumpshots I've ever seen). I think besides our defense the biggest thing going for this team is the fact that it has many players that can go off on any given night. The weakness last year was lack of scoring for stretches of time. If VCU can get its offense near what it's defense was last year they will be a very tough team.

Bradford will be a big loss as he was clutch player and terrific team player(The missed FTs in the Indiana at the end don't define him). However, his brother coming in(4 star and top 100 recruit) should help ease the pain. Of course he's still a freshman which means he'll have plenty of learning to do and will make mistakes. Our senior PG Theus(CAA tourney MVP) I believe will have his best season now that he truly has experience being "the guy". Our freshman will of course have a year of experience under their belt. We also have a 3pt sharpshooter of a guard in Troy Daniels(Has one of the purest jumpshots I've ever seen). I think besides our defense the biggest thing going for this team is the fact that it has many players that can go off on any given night. The weakness last year was lack of scoring for stretches of time. If VCU can get its offense near what it's defense was last year they will be a very tough team.

You forgot to add Rob Brandenburg too, he's one helluva player. I think they become a national title contender once they fix their FT shooting woes. That was easily their biggest weakness.

I think I may put VCU first. They have a ton of talent, and play a style that we have to adjust to, which is not typical when a team joins a new league. I think, like Butler, they will hiccup in years 3-5, but right away they should be dynamite.

I'm not positive, need to look at things a bit more, but right now I lean something like:

__________________
Sure, I've been called a xenophobe, but the truth is, I'm not. I honestly just feel that America is the best country and the other countries aren't as good. That used to be called patriotism.

I think I may put VCU first. They have a ton of talent, and play a style that we have to adjust to, which is not typical when a team joins a new league. I think, like Butler, they will hiccup in years 3-5, but right away they should be dynamite.

I'm not positive, need to look at things a bit more, but right now I lean something like:

You forgot to add Rob Brandenburg too, he's one helluva player. I think they become a national title contender once they fix their FT shooting woes. That was easily their biggest weakness.

I didn't want go on too much to the point of sounding cocky or anything. I will say Briante Webber(Freshman last year) will be a contender for DPOY at some point. Last year during the tourney a couple of analysts actually said in their opinion he would win it at some point. The guy is like a annoying nat that never leaves the ball handler alone. The guy is a absolute joy to watch. He just plain and simply loves the game. Last year when we loss on buzzer beater(He hit like 8 straight FTs but Mason hit 3 miracle 3's to end the game)after he missed one of his last FTs. The guy literally burst into tears right on the court until Bradford came over to him. Webber kept that picture of himself in tears on Facebook and Twitter until they played again to remind himself of that game. When we won the CAA championship he literally wouldn't stop bouncing up and down on the stage. It was like watching a kid get a new toy or special treat. He even directed our band to start playing our songs that our fans sing along with. Sadly after he got off the stage he burst into tears again when his mom came to him to congratulate him.

If things go well Duquesne could end up finishing anywhere from 10th-13th in my opinion. They do return some decent talent in upper classmen Jerry Jones, Sean Johnson and Andre Marhold. Add in a surprisingly good recruiting class thus far with a great coach and assistant staff and they have a decent shot at staying out of the basement.

There is definitely a decent shot they finish last but I think they could surprise some people next year. Quevyn Winters is probably the best recruit at Duquesne in a couple years.

Also I expect atleast one more signing, likely a PG. Possibly Trey Dickerson out of California.